Saturday, August 5, 2017

All-Time Team Under Jose Mourinho

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for players who played under Jose Mourinho. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League. Nicknamed the "Special One", Jose Mourinho began his career as a translator for Bobby Robson at Sporting CP. He beame world famous while at Porto, winning the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the Champions' League in 2004. He went on to coach Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now, Manchester United.

Champions' League winner in 2010 with Inter Milan

TeamGK: Iker Casillas(Spain)Iker Casillas is Spain's most decorated goalkeeper. He won four Champions' League titles with Real Madrid. For Spain, he captained Spain into winning the WC in 2010 and two European Championships in 2008 and 2012. He is capped over 150 times.

Iker Casillas

GK: Petr Cech (the Czech Republic/Chelsea)Cech is best remembered for being Chelsea's undisputred starting keeper from 2004 to 2014. He won almost everything in club football. He is considered among the greatest of his era. In 2015, he joined Arsenal. For Czech Republic, he is the most capped player in the history of the Czech team, with 124 caps.GK: Julio Ceasar (Brazil/Inter Milan)Julio Ceasar was awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year title in both 2009 and 2010. He won the Champions' League with Inter Milan in 2010. He won 87 international caps for the Seleção between 2004 and 2014. He was selected for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, in addition to two Copa América tournaments.RB: Javier Zanetti (Argentina/Inter Milan)He was the starting rightback for Inter Milan for almost 20 years. He served as their captain from 1999, earning him the nickname "Il Capitano" (The Captain). He held all kind of appearance records in Italy. He widely considered to be Argentina's best ever rightback. He holds the record of the most capped player in the history of the Argentine national team and played in the 1996 Olympic tournament, five Copa América tournaments and two World Cups, in 1998 and 2002.

Javier Zanetti

RB: Maicon (Brazil/Inter Milan)Maicon started his career with Cruzeiro before heading to Europe. He first played for Monaco and then, Inter Milan. At Inter Milan, he was widely considered to be the best rightback in the world. He won the Champions' League in 2010. He earnmed 76 caps for Brazil, appearing in the WC Finals in 2010 and 2014.

CB: Ricardo Carvalho (Portgual/Porto/Chelsea/Real Madrid)He was the hero of Porto's Champions' League winning team in 2004. He then played 6 seasons with Chelsea. He also played for Real Madrid. He helped Portugal to reach the Final of Euro 2004 at home and the semifinal of the WC in 2006. He was capped 76 times. He was a part of Portugal's Euro 2016 winning team.

Ricardo Carvalho

CB/RB: Sergio Ramos(Spain/Real Madrid)Part
of the all-conquering Spanish team that won the WC and two European
Championships. He is the youngest player ever to receive his 100th
caps. He joined Real Madrid as a teenager. He scored the tying goal as
Real Madrid won their 10th European Cup in 2014. He also won his second
Champions' League title by scoring a goal in the 2016 Final. In 2017,
he won his third Champions League Cup.CB: Lucio (Brazil/Inter Milan)The
star of the 2002 WC Team. He earned 105 caps for Brazil. He reached
the Champions' League final with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. In
2004, he moved to Bayern Munich, where he won one German Cup and three
Bundesliga titles. He also helped Inter Milan win the 2010 Champions
League against his former club Bayern Munich.CB: John Terry (England/Chelsea)Terry is a top centre-back of his generation and was the captain for Chelsea during most of his Chelsea's rise to the top of English football starting in the season 2004-2005. He won 4 Premiership titles and the Champions League in 2012. For England, he earned 78 caps for England. However, his career was overshadowed by several controversies.

John Terry

LB: Ashley Cole (England/Chelsea)Ashley Cole was considered one of the finest leftbacks of his generation. He was voted the England Player of the Year in 2010. He played in 3 WC Finals. He is also England's most-capped full-back in history. He played with Arsenal, but moved to its rival Chelsea. He won the Champions' League in 2012 with Chelsea. LB: Marcelo(Brazil/Real Madrid)Marcelo started his career with Fluminense before making a dream move to Real Madrid in 2007. He spent several years in and out of the lineup before establishing himself as one of the star of the team. With them, he won three Champions' League titles in from 2014 to 2017. At the time of writing, he has over 50 caps for Brazil and played at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.DM: Claude Makelele(France/Chelsea)Makelele played for Nantes, Marseille and Celta Vigo before making a big move to Real Madrid in 2000. Over there, he quickly established as one of the best defensive midfielder in the world. He won every single club title available. In 2003, he moved to Roman Abramovich's Chelsea. he earned 71 caps for France. He helped France to reach the Final of Germany 2006.

DM/CM: Xabi Alonso (Spain/Real Madrid)Xabi Alonso started with Real Sociedad. He joined Liverpool in 2004 winning the Champions' League trophy in his first season. In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid, winning the Champions' League again in 2014. In 2014, he joined Bayern Munich. He was a key member of the Spanish team that won the WC and two European Championships. His 114 caps make him the fifth most capped player in the nation's history.

Xabi Alonso

CM: Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina/Inter Milan)During his professional career, Cambiasso has won 23 official titles (as of the end of 2011), being the Argentine footballer with most honours in history, one more than Alfredo Di Stéfano.[2] The majority of his titles were won during his ten seasons at Internazionale, including five Scudetti and the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. A full international since 2000, Cambiasso won 52 caps for Argentina, and represented the country at the 2006 World Cup, at the 2005 Confederations Cup, and at the Copa América in 2007 and 2011.

CM: Frank Lampard (England/Chelsea)Lampard was the all-time leading scorer for Chelsea. he started his career with West Ham before joining Chelsea in 2001. He won the Champions' League in 2012 and 3 Preimership with Chelsea. He was runner-up at FIFA Player of the Year in 2015. In 2014, he made a controversial move to Manchester City through a loan deal from NY City FC. For England, he was a key player from 1999 and 2014. The Lampard-Gerrard debate was a hot topic throughout his career with England.

Frank Lampard

CM: Michael Essien (Ghana/Chelsea/Real Madrid)One of the best central midfielders in the world during his prime. He first became a star while playing for Lyon, where he won two Ligue 1 titles in two seasons. Then, he moved to Chelsea. Over there, he won a Champions' league, two Premier :League titles and four FA Cups. He also spent one season with Real Madrid.RW/LW/FW: Arjen Robben (Holland/Chelsea)He was an important player for Bayern Munich's dominance in Europe as they reached three Champions' League Finals in 4 years, winning one. For the national team, he helped Holland to reach the WC Final in 2010 and then the semi-final in 2014. He also played with Real Madrid.AM/CM: Deco (Portugal/Porto)Born in Brazil. He was the star of Porto's Champions' League title in 2003-2004, and then, another one in 2005-2006 with Barcelona FC. He was capped 75 times for Portugal between 2003 and 2010.

Sneijder emerged from the Ajax Academy before making to the first team in 2002. He moved to Real Madrid in 2007, where he won a La Liga title in 2006-2007. He also won a Champions' League title with Inter Milan in 2009-2010. At the time of writing, he has 114 caps for Holland. He was the star player for Holland as they reached the Final of South Africa 2010. He won the Silver Ball. He moved to Galatasaray in 2013.

Wesley Sneijder

AM: Mesut Özil (Germany/Real Madrid)A third generation German of Turkish decent. He played for Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen before making a dream move to Real Madrid after South Africa 2010. He moved to Arsenal in 2013. He was a part of Germany's World Cup winning team in 2014.FW/LW: Cristano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)He is one of the greatest forward of his generation. He is the most expensive players in history from 2009-2013 when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid. At the time of writing, he won the Ballon d'Or winner three times and won Champions' League titles with both Manchester United and Real Madrid. In 2016, he helped Portugal to win the European Championship, a month after winning the Champions' League with Real Madrid.

Cristano Ronaldo

ST: Samuel E'too (Cameroon/Inter Milan)E'too started his career with the academy of Real Madrid. Helayter played with Mallorca. He was a part of the famous REM line at Barcelona where he won two Champions' league titles. He moved to Inter Milan in 2009 and won a third Champions' league in 2009-2010. He won the African Player of the Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

ST:Derlei (Brazil/UD Leiria/Porto)Derlei started playing in the lower levels of football in Brazil, but joined Portugal's U.D. Leiria in 1999. In 2002, he followed Jose Mourinho to Porto, where he would win both the UEFA Cup and the Champions' League. In 2005, he moved to Dynamo Moscow. He also played foe Benfica and Sporting CP. He was, therefore, one of the few players to have represented the Big Three of Portugal.

Derlei

ST: Diego Milito (Argentina/Inter Milan)Milito began his club career with Racing Club in 1999, and later moved to Italian side Genoa in 2003. In 2005 he was acquired by Spanish club Real Zaragoza, where he remained for three seasons, before returning to Genoa in 2008. His prolific goalscoring exploits during his second spell with Genoa earned him a move to defending Serie A champions Inter, where he was pivotal in the club's 2009–10 treble-winning season scoring 32 goals in all competitions including two goals in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final. Earned 25 caps for Argentina, scoring 4 goals, and represented his country in two Copa América tournaments, winning a runners-up medal in 2007, and at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

He was voted African Footballer of the Year twice; 2006 and 2009. The best part of his career was spent with Chelsea. He won the Champions' League for 20011-12. He also finished the top scorer in the Premiership twice. For his country, he led Ivory Coast to the World Cup Finals in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He was their all-time leading scorer.

Didier Drogba

Honorable MentionNuno Valente(Leiria/Porto), Vitor Baia (Porto), Costinha(Porto), Jorge Costa(Porto), Maniche(Porto), Paulo Ferreira (Porto/Chelsea), Damien Duff(Chelsea), Joe Cole(Chelsea), William Gallas(Chelsea), Walter Samuel(Inter Milan), Marco Materazzi(Inter Milan), Ivan Cordoba(Inter Milan), Christian Chivu(Inter Milan), Dejan Stanković(Inter Milan), Pepe(Real Madrid), Iker Casillas(Real Madrid), Diego Lopez(Real Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic(Manchester United), Ed Hazard(Chelsea).Squad Explanation-- The top four keepers are Iker Casillas, Petr Cech and Julio Cesar and Vitor Baia. They are very close.-- Iker Casillas had a feud with Mourinho. He lost his starting job because of an injury. His decline did not become obvious until Carlo Ancelotti. Under Mourinho, he was still among the best in his generation. Petr Cech was also one of the best in his generation. -- David De Gea only played one season for him at the time of writing. -- I took a lot of players who followed Mourinho to different clubs. -- Paulo Ferreira played for him at both Porto and Chelsea, but Maicon and Zanetti were all-timers. Ferreira cannot break into the team. -- Mourinho has a strong selection of right backs. Sergio Ramo started as a rightback for Jose Mourinho. Zanetti actually played centerback for Mourinho while Maicon played there.-- He won two European trophies with Porto while he won the triple with Inter Milan. -- No Manchester United player was seriously considered. At time of writing, he was there for a single season. Despite winning the Europa Cup, it is not enough. Zlatan Ibrahimovic only got an honourable mention. He actually played for him at Milan too.-- Mourinho's second stint with Chelsea was marked with both success and disappointment. Eden Hazard played well for a season under him so he got an Honorable Mention as well.-- Mourinho used Samuel E'too on the left wing.-- Mourinho took Derlei, Helton, Tiago and Nuno Valente from UD Leiria to Porto. Derlei was selected for this team as a symbol of Mourinho's time at Leiria. Besides, he was a key player for Porto in its European runs.-- Mourinho liked to take his players from one team to another, but Juan Mata is not one of them. Mata was ignored by Mourinho at Chelsea so he left for Old Traford. At Manchester United, Mata became one of Formation